


The Devil's Work

by Tui_and_La



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Drama, F/M, Royai Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 08:16:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14930571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tui_and_La/pseuds/Tui_and_La
Summary: The case of Nina from Riza's POV.For Royai Week 2018, day 4 picture prompt: tied by a red thread.





	The Devil's Work

**Author's Note:**

> I shouldn't even been writing, but I just _had_ to contribute to Royai Week somehow or I wouldn't be in peace.

\- If ever there was an example of the devil’s work in this world, this case would definitely be it. 

Riza had never been particularly religious. There was no space for religion in her father's science. There was no God to pray to when she was holding the pillow tightly to muffle her pain and wipe her tears; no God to defend the people she decimated. However, when the images of what she had just witnessed remained printed in her mind, following her way out where rain began to fall, she wondered if the child would ever find some kind of peace again, and if the man would be dragged to some kind of hell in the end.

\- The devil, huh? State Alchemists must be willing to act, able to take another’s life when ordered to without question. - the Colonel's response came harsh and precise, like a speech that has been recited multiple times in one's head. - In some ways, Mr. Tucker’s actions and our own may not be all that far apart. When it comes to interfering with other people's lives, we choose our path, knowing full well what we’re doing. That’s the way it is, right, Fullmetal?

Although the Lieutenant kept quiet and composed, it nearly scared her how genuinely unimpressed he seemed, armored in the certainty of words she could only partially agree with. It wasn't that he was just playing it tough in order to teach Edward a lesson, no, he truly believed he had no right to despise the Sewing-Life Alchemist. With that she had to disagree, because even when he referred only to State Alchemists, the Colonel couldn't exclude her from the equation. They were both bound by the same sins and _her_ actions weren’t so far apart from his to begin with. Yet they weren't the same as Shou Tucker.

A father used his daughter in his alchemy experiments. That much was no surprise for her, either, although it made Riza feel uncomfortable in her own skin. It meant she wasn’t the only victim. However, there was more to it this time. A father had willingly turned his four-year-old daughter into a _chimera_ , no turning back, and that was a new kind of horror.

The child was mostly gone, physically, that is. It was the distorted figure of a dog with girl's hair that stood on the room, bearing eyes too expressive not to be human while speaking in fractured words that resembled neither a human voice nor dog sounds, and most definitely not a little girl's cry for help. It could be called a successful talking chimera by its creator, but it was visibly as much of a failed experiment as the previous one - which Riza was now able to comprehend. The child was still there, with only half a consciousnesses left for her, confined to a choke of life. And it asked to play, as if it could still be seen as a creature of its own will by anyone in that room.

Riza knew better. Little girls were only objects of their fathers' self-realization as alchemists, even when they asked for a break and when they said "please, not today", or when they just wanted to play a little bit.

\- You will more than likely come across cases like this in the future, and you may end up having to get your own hands dirty as well. - Colonel Mustang proceeded. - Are you gonna shut down like this every time? 

His words were no longer a response to her, yet they resonated in her mind. She had already made that choice in the past, aware of its implications, and that's why she wouldn't mention how sick she felt now, how barely unable to contain her nausea and disgust.

\- We may be called dogs of the military sometimes - the boy finally spoke. -, we may even be cursed as devils. It doesn't matter. Al and I are still gonna get out bodies back. We know the truth, we know we're not devils, we know we're not gods. We're human. _WE'RE ONLY HUMAN!_ \- he paused, and his next words floated away in a whisper, barely meeting her ears. - Who can't even do anything to save one innocent little girl. So what good are we, then?

_Very good_ , Riza concluded, although she followed silently her superior without looking back. _You still think in terms of saving that life_. Meanwhile she knew that damage could never be repaired. All she could think of was how to end that suffering, and would've done it with her own hands, clean and quickly, if only allowed to put that little girl to rest.

Perhaps that was the ultimate difference between herself and the man guiding her way downstairs. The Colonel no longer had faith in himself, because said "self" was out of reach, lost among the Flame Alchemist, the dog of the military, the Hero of Ishval, the devil. On the other hand, Riza still had faith on both of them, and that's why she was needed by his side. Despite the cruelty he could witness unfazed, Riza knew the horror he was capable of and the horror he would never be able to replicate when she drew a line in her judgment between Roy Mustang and Shou Tucker.

The First Lieutenant was once given the job to keep her superior in the right path because, from the two of them, she would be the one losing her sleep that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
